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If OHL rookie Justin Bailey had any doubts he was playing against bigger, faster and stronger competition this season, they were erased very quickly.

In the third period of just his third game, the Kitchener Rangers’ 17-year-old centre got caught with his head down trying to take a pass in the neutral zone and was drilled by Windsor’s Patrick Sieloff, a Calgary Flames prospect.

Bailey, ranked as a potential first-round pick in next spring’s NHL entry draft, missed the next five games. But he says he learned a valuable lesson.

“It was kind of an eye-opener,” says the six-foot-three, 190-pound native of Williamsville, N.Y. “Since I’ve come back from my concussion I’ve been more aware and I think that’s actually going to help me in the long run.

“Playing with kids my own age last year I could probably get away with that (leaving himself vulnerable on the ice). But this year, I can’t do that.”

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People describe him “as green or raw and I have to agree,” says Steve Spott, the Rangers’ head coach and general manager. “But I can’t imagine what he’s going to be like at 23 or 24 or 25 years of age because of the fact you can’t teach his skill set or hockey sense.”

Spott says one of the biggest adjustments for Bailey in making the “giant leap” from midget to the OHL is in the area of “learning to play the game with other people.” That entails such things as sharing the puck, managing the length of his shifts and developing his skills in the defensive end of the ice.

Bailey, the son of former NFL linebacker Carlton Bailey, who played in three Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills, lived with his mom in a condo where neighbours included former Sabres Matthew Barnaby, Michael Peca and Rob Ray. Last season, he moved to the AAA major midget Long Island Royals, where he played for and lived with Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine.

“It was great to have a guy like that, especially when you’re living with him, you’re able to talk about the game that just happened on the car ride home,” Bailey said. “He breaks down the game in ways the average hockey player wouldn’t and he knows all the ins and outs about everything in the game.”

Bailey starred with the Royals, scoring 21 goals and 13 assists in 22 games. He had two goals and an assist in a Tier 1 national championship victory.

Admitting “the calibre of hockey I played last year wasn’t as hard as it could have been,” Bailey struggled with where to play this season. He appeared headed for Michigan State University, but in the end, after visiting with the Rangers, who had his OHL rights, and talking with family and friends — including Barnaby, a former Quebec junior league player — he chose Kitchener.

“I know this is the right path for me,” Bailey says.

Justin Bailey

Centre, Kitchener Rangers

BORN: July 1, 1995

HOMETOWN: Williamsville, N.Y.

HEIGHT: Six-foot-three

WEIGHT: 190 pounds

STATISTICS

16 GP, 5 G, 2 A, 7 Pts., +6, 6 PIM

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Had the first two points of his OHL career — a pair of goals — in a 5-2 win over the Kingston Frontenacs on Oct. 21.

• Played for Team USA at the under-18 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament.

• Won 2012 under-16 Tier 1 U.S. midget national championship with the Long Island Royals.

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